Why it works: Vanilla and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓
Custard Souffle
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the custard base
Mix the sugar and flour with a little cold milk.
Stir this mixture into the boiling milk and cook for 10 minutes, stirring until smooth.
Add the butter and mix well, then stir in the beaten egg yolks.
Remove from heat and gently fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites.
Bake and serve
Pour into a pudding dish or small molds.
Place the dish in a pan of hot water and bake at 400°F (200°C) for 30 minutes, or 20 minutes for small molds.
Serve immediately with whipped cream or a light sauce.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
-
Vanilla + milktop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
-
Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Vanilla + sugartop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Vanilla + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,241 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Vanilla and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg whites
- Whipped into foam, they lighten the batter and give the soufflé its rise and airy structure.
- Egg yolks
- Enrich the base and help it set into a tender, custard-like texture when baked.
- Flour
- Thickens the hot milk into a stable base that holds the whipped whites.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid body of the custard base, cooked to thicken with the flour.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the base and adds a little structure to the custard.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a smooth, rounded flavour and mouthfeel to the base.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Folding gently keeps the whipped whites' air intact. Stirring or deflating them makes the soufflé dense and reduces its rise in the oven.
Swap the vanilla
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, flour, milk, butter):
- Vanillathe original
- Raisinfits about as well
- Figfits less well
- Coconutfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, flour, milk, butter. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
You might also like
Vanilla Ice Cream108 recipes
White Cake431 recipes
Pound Cake373 recipes
Orange Bundt Cake349 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.